The mayor of a small town in Missouri wants to give every resident up to $1,000 worth of bitcoin

• A small-town mayor wants each resident to receive up to $1,000 worth of bitcoin by yearend, KSDK reported.
• The mayor is Jayson Stewart of Cool Valley, a city in St. Louis County with roughly 1,500 residents.
• Stewart said he is now raising capital to fund his goal.

A small-town Missouri mayor said he wants each resident of his city to receive up to $1,000 worth of bitcoin by the end of the year, local news channel KSDK first reported.

Mayor Jayson Stewart of Cool Valley, a town in St. Louis County with roughly 1,500 residents, believes bitcoin will be transformational for his constituents.

"I would like to see every single household in my city receive some level of Bitcoin, whether it be $500 or $1,000," he told KSDK. "Look, it's digital gold."

The mayor recounted some anecdotes of his peers whose lives financially improved because of bitcoin.

"I have friends whose lives have been completely changed, like going from working a regular nine to five job to being worth over $80 million in a matter of a few years," he told KSDK.

Despite success stories brought about by bitcoin, many have also been burned by the asset's intense volatility.

In July, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey told investors they should only buy cryptocurrencies if they are prepared to lose all their money.

The UK's financial markets watchdog is taking the warning a step further by creating a $15-million campaign to warn retail investors of risks involved in investing in the nascent space.

Still, Mayor Stewart remains determined to see through his ambitious goal.

"I have some very supportive donors who have agreed to match any money that I raise up to several millions of dollars," Stewart told KSDK. "I'm trying to get a few government funds as well to go along with that, or potentially some of the relief money that comes in from the COVID relief."

One caveat he has, however, is for his residents to hold on to their bitcoins - at least for a while.

"The idea is that maybe you don't touch it for five years before you really get full access to it," Stewart told KSDK, highlighting the potential of the cryptocurrency to surge further in value.

Bitcoin, the world's largest digital asset by market capitalization, has been staging a comeback after a steep selloff in May. The asset has rallied 66% year-to-date and 313% in the past 12 months. As of August 20, it was trading around $48,978 per coin.

While details of the plan are still to come, Stewart joins the multitude of bitcoin bulls who believe in investing and holding the digital currency long term.

Cryptocurrency adoption has gained traction as of late, especially in the US. The percentage of Americans holding bitcoin tripled between 2018 and 2021, according to a July Gallup survey, despite a majority of bitcoin investors viewing the cryptocurrency as a high-risk asset.